Family Matters

Beloved grandchildren crowd Cora Hopson's apartment in a CHA building on the South Side. The six children live with Hopson, 68, their sole caretaker.

The four-bedroom apartment is a tight fit for the family of seven. Hopson shares one bedroom with the youngest child. Three girls share another. The oldest grandchildren, a teenage boy and girl, each have their own rooms because Hopson thinks they're at the age when they need their own space.

"We're jammed into this apartment here," said Hopson, who supports the family on about $900 a month. "It doesn't make sense to look for a bigger place because I just don't have the money."

Hopson's story is not not all that unusual. Lack of decent housing, especially a shortage of space, is among the top problems faced by grandparents raising their grandchildren. Many older people, struggling to keep their families together, make do with the house or apartment they have. Kids sleep on sofas. Everyone shares a room.

Grandparents with money may remodel their homes or move. Some may have to move, if they live in a seniors-only building. Low-income grandparents have an especially difficult time, though recognition of the problem has fostered programs that provide services and housing for these so-called grandfamilies.

"It's a real struggle for many of these families to find housing," said Barbara Schwartz, program coordinator of the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Program at the Illinois Department on Aging.

According to the U.S. Census, about 4.5 million children live in grandparent-headed households. In Illinois, 213,465 kids live with their grandparents. About half of those are in the Chicago area.

Kids end up with their grandparents for a variety of reasons. The death of a parent, divorce and substance abuse by the parents are among the top causes.

Asked why they take the kids in, grandparents universally reply the decision was easy. "These are my grandchildren. This is my blood," said Hopson said.

Grandparents hope to make a home for their grandchildren. They also want to keep the kids out of foster care, a system they often distrust.

"There have always been grandparents doing this," said Schwartz. And despite the difficulties, the living arrangement usually has a positive effect on the grandparents, Schwartz added. "It keeps them focused and renewed. It's not all bad."

The number of grandfamilies is on the rise. Nationally, there was an increase between 1990 and 2000 of about 1 million children living with their grandparents. In Illinois, the increase of kids in grandparent-headed households was about 30 percent in that period.

Schwartz attributes the growth of grandfamilies to an increase in substance abuse among parents. But, Schwartz noted, any grandparent can become a parent again -- in an instant. It happens to grandparents of all ages from those still in their 40s to those as old as 90.

Madeline Randazzo became a parent again when her daughter died of leukemia. "It was only a matter of months between my daughter's diagnosis and death," said Randazzo, who lives in Loves Park, just outside Rockford. "I got the kids."

At the time, Randazzo lived with her mother, who needed care. The four children moved into the two-bedroom Cape Cod house. Randazzo also married, bringing the total number of people in the house to seven. "We had to do extensive remodeling," Randazzo said. The house was paid for, though, and Randazzo was able to take out loans to pay for the work.

Two bedrooms were added in the basement. Another bedroom and den were put in the attic. "It was a very unconventional arrangement," Randazzo said. The living room on the main floor was used as a dining room. A room in the basement served as the living room. "We were spread out all over the house," she said.

For grandfamilies, space is always at a premium.

Eleven years ago, Adrian and Ronald Charniak bought a house in west suburban Riverside because Adrian's parents planned to live with them. But Adrian's father died, and only her mother moved in. Luckily, the house had a third bedroom because it was needed for Adrian's grandson, Joey Nosal. Adrian is thankful her grandfamily has enough room, but, she said, "the bases are loaded."

Like many grandparents with young children, Adrian's plans have changed. She works for an orthodontist in Chicago, but she's postponed any thoughts of retirement. She spent $60,000 on legal fees to gain guardianship of Joey, Adrian said. "I've used the money I would have saved for myself," she said. "But it's well worth it. Nothing could replace those little arms around your neck at night."

Adrian's dream is to win the lottery and buy a big building, such as the old Cook County Hospital and covert it into apartments for grandfamiles. "I see all these vacant lots and buildings and figure there must be a way to get money to help grandfamilies find housing," she said.